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MILEAGE UPDATE (2018)

.18 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, up from .17 cents from 2017

.14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

TAX DUE DATES (2016)

The due dates for federal C Corporations and Partnership returns have been changed as follows:

C Corporations (Form 1120)

Calendar year end – April 15

Fiscal year end – 15th day of the fourth month after the year end

Partnerships (Form 1065)

Calendar year end – March 15

Fiscal year end – 15th day of the third month after the year end

S Corporations (Form 2553)

Calendar year end – March 15

Fiscal year end – 15th day of the third month after the year end

W2, W3, 1099

Due date January 31st

Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report (FBAR): The filing due date will now be April 15 (was June 15)

Form 990 (Exempt Organizations): An extension will now be for an automatic 6-month extension.

SUNSET ACCOUNTING

is a a small accounting firm that has opened a new office in the Charlotte, NC area, and continues to grow from our clients “Word of Mouth”. There is no client too small.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Twenty years experience in General Accounting, Full Charge Bookkeeping, Payroll, sales and use tax,financial analysis and financial solutions. Fifteen years experience preparing Individual taxes, S-Corporation and sole proprietorship. Seven years in partnerships and C-Corporation, Three years experience in trust and non profit tax returns. 10 years experience in office management and CFO responsibilities.

OFFICE ADDRESS

1216 Sunset Road
Charlotte, NC 28216

Important Information For 2017/2018

Standard deduction and personal exemption

Yes, the standard deduction has roughly doubled for all filers, but the valuable personal exemption has been eliminated. For example, a single filer would have been entitled to a $6,500 standard deduction and a $4,150 personal exemption in 2018, for a total of $10,650 in income exclusions. Under the new tax plan, they would just get a $12,000 standard deduction. Is it better? Yes.

Comparison between the standard deductions of the new and old tax laws.

Tax Filing Status

Previous Standard Deduction (Set to take effect in 2018)

New Standard Deduction

Single

$6,500

$12,000

Married Filing Jointly

$13,000

$24,000

Married Filing Separately

$6,500

$12,000

Head of Household

$9,350

$18,000

Tax breaks for parents

Child Tax Credit, which is available for qualified children under age 17. Specifically, the bill doubles the credit from $1,000 to $2,000, and also increases the amount of the credit that is refundable to $1,400.

If your children are 17 or older or you take care of elderly relatives, you can claim a nonrefundable $500 credit, subject to the same income thresholds.

Furthermore, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, which allows parents to deduct qualified child care expenses, has been kept in place. This can be worth as much as $1,050 for one child under 13 or $2,100 for two children. Plus, up to $5,000 of income can still be sheltered in a dependent care flexible spending account on a pre-tax basis to help make child care more affordable. You can’t use both of these breaks to cover the same child care costs, but with the annual cost of child care well over $20,000 per year for two children in many areas, it’s safe to say that many parents can take advantage of the FSA and credit, both of which remain in place.

Education tax breaks

Earlier versions of the tax bill called for reducing or eliminating some education tax breaks, but the final version does not. Specifically, the Lifetime Learning Credit and Student Loan Interest Deduction are still in place, and the exclusion for graduate school tuition waivers survives as well. One significant change is that the bill expands the available use of funds saved in a 529 college savings plan to include levels of education other than college. In other words, if you have children in private school, or you pay for tutoring for your child in the K-12 grade levels, you can use the money in your account for these expenses.

Mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and medical expenses

First, the mortgage interest deduction can only be taken on mortgage debt of up to $750,000, down from $1 million currently. This only applies to mortgages taken after Dec. 15, 2017, preexisting mortgages are grandfathered in. And the interest on home equity debt can no longer be deducted at all, whereas up to $100,000 in home equity debt could be considered.

Next, the charitable contribution deduction is almost the same, but with two notable changes. First, taxpayers can deduct donations of as much as 60% of their income, up from a 50% cap. And donations made to a college in exchange for the right to purchase athletic tickets will no longer be deductible.

Finally, the threshold for the medical expenses deduction has been reduced from 10% of AGI to 7.5% of AGI. In other words, if your adjusted gross income is $50,000, you can now deduct any unreimbursed medical expenses over $3,750, not $5,000 as set by prior tax law. Unlike most other provisions in the bill, this is retroactive to the 2017 tax year.

The State and local tax deduction

The final version of the bill keeps the deduction, but limits the total deductible amount to $10,000, including income, sales, and property taxes.

Deductions that are disappearing

Gone for the 2018 tax year are the deductions for:

Casualty and theft losses (except those attributable to a federally declared disaster)

Unreimbursed employee expenses

Tax preparation expenses

Other miscellaneous deductions previously subject to the 2% AGI cap

Moving expenses

Employer-subsidized parking and transportation reimbursement

The pass-through deduction — does it apply to you?

The new tax code makes a big change to the way pass-through business income is taxed. This includes income earned by sole proprietorships, LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations.

Under the new law, taxpayers with pass-through businesses like these will be able to deduct 20% of their pass-through income. In other words, if you own a small business and it generates $100,000 in profit in 2018, you’ll be able to deduct $20,000 of it before the ordinary income tax rates are applied.

There are phaseout income limits that apply to “professional services” business owners such as lawyers, doctors, and consultants, which are set at $157,500 for single filers and $315,000 for pass-through business owners who file a joint return.

Alternative minimum tax

So, the tax reform bill permanently adjusts the AMT exemption amounts for inflation in order to address this problem, and makes them significantly higher initially in 2018. Here’s how the AMT exemptions are changing for 2018.

Tax Filing Status

2017 AMT Exemption Amount

2018 AMT Exemption Amount

Single or Head of Household

$54,300

$70,300

Married Filing Jointly

$84,500

$109,400

Married Filing Separately

$42,250

$54,700

The bill lowers the corporate tax rate to a flat 21% on all profits. This is not only a massive tax cut, but is a major simplification as compared to the 2017 corporate tax structure.

Taxable Income Range

Marginal Corporate Tax Rate (2017)

$0-$50,000

15%

$50,000-$75,000

25%

$75,000-$100,000

34%

$100,000-$335,000

39%

$335,000-$10,000,000

34%

$10,000,000-$15,000,000

35%

$15,000,000-$18,333,333

38%

$18,333,333 and above

35%

2018 tax brackets

Marginal Tax Rate

Single

Married Filing Jointly

Head of Household

Married Filing Separately

10%

$0-$9,525

$0-$19,050

$0-$13,600

$0-$9,525

12%

$9,525-$38,700

$19,050-$77,400

$13,600-$51,800

$9,525-$38,700

22%

$38,700-$82,500

$77,400-$165,000

$51,800-$82,500

$38,700-$82,500

24%

$82,500-$157,500

$165,000-$315,000

$82,500-$157,500

$82,500-$157,500

32%

$157,500-$200,000

$315,000-$400,000

$157,500-$200,000

$157,500-$200,000

35%

$200,000-$500,000

$400,000-$600,000

$200,000-$500,000

$200,000-$300,000

37%

Over $500,000

Over $600,000

Over $500,000

Over $600,000

Capital gains taxes

The general structure of the capital gains tax system, which applies to things like stock sales and sales of other appreciated assets, isn’t changing. However, there are still a few important points to know.

For starters, short-term capital gains are still taxed as ordinary income. Since the tax brackets applied to ordinary income have changed significantly, as you can see from the charts above, your short-term gains are likely taxed at a different rate than they formerly were.

Also, under the new tax law, the three capital gains income thresholds don’t match up perfectly with the tax brackets. Under previous tax law, a 0% long-term capital gains tax rate applied to individuals in the two lowest marginal tax brackets, a 15% rate applied to the next four, and a 20% capital gains tax rate applied to the top tax bracket.

Instead of this type of structure, the long-term capital gains tax rate income thresholds are similar to where they would have been under the old tax law. For 2018, they are applied to maximum taxable income levels as follows:

Long-Term Capital Gains Rate

Single Taxpayers

Married Filing Jointly

Head of Household

Married Filing Separately

0%

Up to $38,600

Up to $77,200

Up to $51,700

Up to $38,600

15%

$38,600-$425,800

$77,200-$479,000

$51,700-$452,400

$38,600-$239,500

20%

Over $425,800

Over $479,000

Over $452,400

Over $239,500

2018 tax withholding change from IRS:

December 26, 2017

The IRS is working to develop withholding guidance to implement the tax reform bill signed into law on December 22. We anticipate issuing the initial withholding guidance in January, and employers and payroll service providers will be encouraged to implement the changes in February. The IRS emphasizes this information will be designed to work with the existing Forms W-4 that employees have already filed, and no further action by taxpayers is needed at this time.

Use of the new 2018 withholding guidelines will allow taxpayers to begin seeing the changes in their paychecks as early as February. In the meantime, employers and payroll service providers should continue to use the existing 2017 withholding tables and systems.

Private Debt Collection

The IRS will always notify a taxpayer before transferring their account to a private collection agency (PCA). First, the IRS will send a letter to the taxpayer and their tax representative informing them that their account is being assigned to a PCA and giving the name and contact information for the PCA. This mailing will include a copy of Publication 4518, What You Can Expect When the IRS Assigns Your Account to a Private Collection Agency.

Only four private groups are participating in this program: CBE Group of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Conserve of Fairport, N.Y.; Performant of Livermore, Calif.; and Pioneer of Horseheads, N.Y. The taxpayer’s account will only be assigned to one of these agencies, never to all four. No other private group is authorized to represent the IRS.